Holly Poter and the Trials of Asking Her Crush to the Yule Ball
by Violet Rose of Darkness
Summary: Holly Lily Potter is having a hard time asking her crush, Hermione Granger, to the ball. Will she succeed? Genderbent!Harry because it's my fic and I can do what I want. One-shot


**I usually don't do genderbends, but I figured, why the hell not? And I haven't written anything for Harry Potter in a while, so here you go. Please enjoy!**

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Holly Lily Potter was _not_ going to the Yule Ball with Ronald Weasley.

Don't get her wrong, Ron was a good guy and one of her best friends, but that was it. They were just friends. She knew that, he knew that, but for some reason, the rest of the school couldn't figure that out. Somehow, they had come to the conclusion that their fight that had taken place when her name had come out of the Goblet of Fire was some sort of "Lover's Quarrel."

In reality, Ron was being a jealous git and she had come to the realization that she had a bit of a temper.

But they moved past that because that was what true friends did. She and Ron had talked about the Yule Ball and decided that they, under any circumstances, were not to attend the ball with one another. It was much too weird. She had no idea if he and Hermione had discussed something similar, but she assumed that the Muggle-born felt the same way she did.

Hermione.

The thought of the girl brought a soft smile to Holly's face. She never told the other girl nearly enough, but she was so lucky to have her. She didn't favor either of her friends over the other, but she had to admit that Ron didn't even come close to her level of loyalty and devotion to her friends. Without Hermione, Holly was sure she'd have been dead long ago.

It shouldn't have been such a surprise when she realized she was in love with the brunette.

Holly groaned, flipping over onto her back. It was hard enough being the goddamn "Girl-Who-Lived," "Chosen One," and "The Fourth Tri-Wizard Champion." She could only imagine the field day Rita Skeeter would have if word got around that she was gay.

Though, could she really be blamed. Hermione was someone who had always had her back from day one. Even when they had been fighting over - she winced in shame - a broomstick the previous year, she never stopped helping her. She was everything anyone should ever want in a girl. She was smart, loyal, kind - if not a bit pushy, but that was one of the things that she loved about her -, and she stood up for anything and everything she believed in.

Not to mention, Hermione was beautiful. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but no one could deny the light in her light honey eyes or the soft curves that her figure was developing. She wasn't overly curvy like some other girls, but that didn't take away from her beauty. True, she didn't have long, flowing hair, but Holly found the bushy brown locks endearing and wouldn't have them changed for the world.

Why the brunette didn't have boys falling at her feet would forever remain a mystery to her.

"Holly!"

Speak of the devil. Holly turned her head to the side to see Hermione standing in the doorway of the dorm that they shared with Lavender Brown, Pavarti Patil, Eloise Midgen, and Romilda Vane. "Hi, Mione," she muttered, her heart fluttering at the sight of her.

Hermione's face turned to one of concern as she set herself next to her on the bed. "Holly, are you feeling alright?" she asked softly. She placed a hand on her forehead. "You're not sick, are you?"

Holly shook her head. "No. I'm not sick." If she wasn't so in love with Hermione, she might have felt envious. Now, she didn't consider herself ugly by any standards; her emerald green eyes, from her mother, and jet black hair, curtesy of her father, just didn't give her an unattractive face. She was, however, as flat as a cutting board. Where other girls seem to be coming into their own, she still had the same body she had in her first year.

The brunette studied her, trying to decide if she was lying or not. "If you're sure..." She stood up, dusting her robes off. "I just came to get you so that you wouldn't be late for our next class. You know Professor Snape will have a fit if you're late again."

The noirette pulled herself up. "I'm coming, I'm coming..." She bit her lip and spoke before she could stop herself, "Mione, cane I ask you a question?"

Hermione smiled at her. "Of course, Holly. What is it?"

Holly opened her mouth, but the words died in her throat. "I... Never mind. We should get to class."

God, where was that famous Gryffindor courage when you needed it?

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Holly tried. Damn it, she tried.

All day long, she tried to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball. Yet, every time she tried, she would get much too nervous. A million scenarios ran through her head and every one of them ended up in disaster. Hermione laughing at her, Hermione loudly proclaiming that she wasn't interested in girls, the whole school shaming her (again), the list went on and on.

If was ridiculous, really. She could face Voldemort twice, she could face a dementor and werewolf, but she couldn't ask a girl to a ball. Truly sad.

"Holly?"

Holly jumped, whipping around to face the object of her affections. "Blimey, Hermione!" she exclaimed. "Don't do that!"

Hermione smiled in amusement. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." She gestured to the window. "May I join you?"

"Of course."

The brunette settled in next to her. "So, who are you asking to the Yule Ball?" she asked casually.

Holly tensed at the question, but forced herself to shrug. "I haven't decided yet," she lied. "You?"

Hermione blushed. "Viktor Krum has asked me," she admitted. "but I don't think I'm interested in him. He's great, but he's more of a friend to me. And Ron is, well..."

The noirette raised an eyebrow. "Completely out of the question?" she teased.

She giggled in response. "Something like that."

Holly laughed as well before her features adopted a more serious expression. "Hermione?"

Hermione gazed at her with her big honey eyes. "Yes?"

Now was her chance. She could ask Hermione and get it over and done with. It was the perfect opportunity. She opened her mouth to speak and uttered, "Have you go a dress yet?" _Really, Potter?_ she mentally berated herself. _That was seriously all you could say? Coward._

The witch next to her grinned. "I may have _something_ in my closet."

Holly laughed again, knowing full well what that meant. "What are you planning, Granger?"

Hermione sent her a wink. "You'll have to wait and see, Potter." She was quiet for a moment before speaking, "Holly?"

"Yeah, Mione?"

Hermione hesitantly to her hand in her own. "I know this might sound strange and goes against tradition, but I wanted to know..." She stopped, biting her lip.

Her heart stopped. "Wanted to know what, Hermione?"

Hermione looked up at her with her large brown eyes. "If you would go to the Yule Ball with me," she finished quietly.

It took a few moments for the words to register in Holly's head. Did Hermione Jean Granger just ask her to the _Yule Ball_? The very thing she had been trying to do all day. "I..."

The bookworm lowered her head. "I understand if you don't want to-"

"No!" Holly cut in, startling her companion. "Bloody hell, Mione, _of course_ I want to go with you!"

Hermione looked surprise. "Y-You do?"

"Uh, yeah!" said Holly incredulously. She blushed. "I was actually trying all day to ask you."

Hermione grinned bashfully. "I thought there was something off about you today. I just assumed it was Cho."

"Cho? _Cho Chang_?" Where had that even come from? She hardly knew the girl!

The brunette shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, she's beautiful and good at Quidditch and I saw how you looked at her last year and she's much prettier than I am-"

Holly looked bemused. "I _don't_ think she's prettier than you!"

Hermione tilted her head to the side. "You don't?"

The green-eyed girl shook her head so fast that she thought it would fall off. "Yeah, Cho's pretty," she admitted. "but she's not _you_ , Hermione. You've always been by my side, even when I didn't deserve it. And-" She stopped, pondering something. "How did you know I fancied girls?"

Another shrug. "You're not very discreet."

Holly giggled. "I guess not."

Hermione smiled at her, glancing at their conjoined hands. "I suppose we're really doing this, aren't we? You know the Prophet will talk."

It was Holly's turn to shrug. "Let them. There's no one else I'd rather take."

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 **The ending was meh at best. Hey, cut me some slack, my throat hurts like a bitch. If you want to know what Holly looks like, I'd like to think that she looked a bit more like Lily than James. But imagine her how you want. Anyway, please review!**


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